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From Asperen you make a tour in the area between the meandering Linge and the mighty Waal. Along the way you will be amazed at the forts along the route, which nowadays have very special functions. The start and end point of the route is Hotel Restaurant de Schildkamp in Asperen. The hotel is located on the Linge. Hotel guests enjoy peace, space and hospitality in comfortable hotel rooms. Guests who do not stay overnight can also visit the hotel all day to enjoy breakfast, lunch or a delicious dinner. And on summer days you can relax on the terrace. Kasteel Merckenburg, or Kasteel Heukelum, is a brick castle from the 13th century. The castle has been destroyed and rebuilt twice. The first time was in the 14th century, the second time in 1672 when the French blew up the building during the Dutch War. The keep was then spared and around 1700 the castle was restored. The interior of Heukelum Castle is nowadays of great historical importance, but the upholstery, furniture and paintings are very fragile. Therefore, the castle is not open to the public. Fort bij de Nieuwe Steeg / Geofort is a fortress island of 3.5 hectares. At first glance it is only a rolling grass landscape, but it used to be part of the New Dutch Waterline. The fort now houses a theme park in the field of cartography and navigation. You can experiment inside and outside with various geotechnical techniques. You become disoriented in the dark underground passage. You will be challenged in the maze and fascinated by cards in the barracks. Children can search in the bat scavenger hunt of Staatsbosbeheer. An adventure for young and old! Fort Asperen is also part of the New Dutch Waterline. There is a moat around the complex and a drawbridge brings you within the walls. The building has exterior walls one and a half meters thick. The three floors have a cellar, the ground floor with gun embrasures, the first floor with cannon embrasures and an earthen top battery. The special thing about this fort is that it has been used as an Art Fort in the summer months since the 1980s. The KunstFort Asperen Foundation organizes high-profile art and design exhibitions there. There are also educational activities for young and old. Would you like to explore another area from Asperen? If you choose to spend the night in this place, you can immediately get back on your bike the next day with cycle route 134811.